I have been thinking about what topic I want to research for my food research paper and these are the topics I have come up with as possibilities so far:
1. Lunch programs in public schools. How have they evolved? What changes will they undergo in the near future? What has changed in the way of nutritional value? How many schools prepare fresh lunch vs pre packaged? Does that change based on the region of the US? Why? What programs exist that are focused on changing school lunch programs for the better? Are child obesity rates higher in regions that refuse to prepare fresh lunches for their kids? What kind of programs exist in the case where a child cannot afford to buy lunch but is in line to get lunch? Is it cheaper for a parent to buy lunch tickets (or what ever sort of program set up is available) than it is to buy healthy foods to pack for their child lunch?
2. Food allergies. How are they developed over time? Which ones are most likely genetically passed down? Is there a way to prevent them? How does acupuncture work to resolve said allergies? Are there foods that we should remove from our diets permanently regardless if we are allergic or not? Does cutting gout gluten prevent you from getting sick? If you are not allergic to gluten is cutting it out of your diet harmful or does it have a neutral affect? At what rate have reported cases of food allergies been rising or declining?
3. Dairy. Why do we still drink milk? Is it actually beneficial to us? What are the fallacies in the drink milk message? Why are we they only mammal species that consumes milk after the nursing period? what are the negative affects of milk? what are the positive? can we get the same nutrition from other sources? why are we still able to digest it?
So far I am leaning towards the first two but they are all of interest to me.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
2:19:13
A response to the documentary: The Future Of Food :
I was enraged.
I felt betrayed.
I honestly had zero idea that the industrial farming industry has become far more corrupt and warped than I had already had knowledge of. It disgusts me that something as essential and seemingly basic as our food is now mainly run by down right greedy corporations. While the facades of small town farmers are plastered everywhere in a super market from the store's logo to the egg cartons, to the strawberry containers aren't fooling anyone, I still had hope. This documentary brought to light the fact that the community and trading aspect of farming is nearly gone. Despite the smaller counter revolutions of farmer's markets and local weekly produce membership clubs, those who do not have access to such a privilege are sucked into the industrial trap.
The ending fades out with the narrators voice stating that "It's up to you" and then leaves you with the documentary's website for more information. I sat there with a blank look on my face and spoke out loud to the screen "But what do I have to do to get involved?! You can just leave me with a prophecy and then fade to black!" Once I took the liberty to actually go to their website and check it out, I found an entire page of organizations who are fighting for the preservation of food in its original genetic state.
The least I am planning on doing is signing some sort of petition if not get involved in a more hands on way. While slightly corny at times- excuse the pun- I found that this film was effective, eye opening and persuading. It wasn't the most visually pleasing but it definitely had a lot of valuable information to present.
I was enraged.
I felt betrayed.
I honestly had zero idea that the industrial farming industry has become far more corrupt and warped than I had already had knowledge of. It disgusts me that something as essential and seemingly basic as our food is now mainly run by down right greedy corporations. While the facades of small town farmers are plastered everywhere in a super market from the store's logo to the egg cartons, to the strawberry containers aren't fooling anyone, I still had hope. This documentary brought to light the fact that the community and trading aspect of farming is nearly gone. Despite the smaller counter revolutions of farmer's markets and local weekly produce membership clubs, those who do not have access to such a privilege are sucked into the industrial trap.
The ending fades out with the narrators voice stating that "It's up to you" and then leaves you with the documentary's website for more information. I sat there with a blank look on my face and spoke out loud to the screen "But what do I have to do to get involved?! You can just leave me with a prophecy and then fade to black!" Once I took the liberty to actually go to their website and check it out, I found an entire page of organizations who are fighting for the preservation of food in its original genetic state.
The least I am planning on doing is signing some sort of petition if not get involved in a more hands on way. While slightly corny at times- excuse the pun- I found that this film was effective, eye opening and persuading. It wasn't the most visually pleasing but it definitely had a lot of valuable information to present.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
2.12.13
A response to the third section of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilema:
I found this last section of the book to be the most compelling. It's what I have been waiting for. The application of the omnivore's dilemma into Michael Pollan's life. I am always fascinated to hear about peoples' journeys with diet choices they aren't familiar with. I feel like there is a lot of self re-evaluating and cultural re-evaluating that takes place.
I was most drawn into the chapter about hunting. The way he ends up describing it even turns myself on to the idea. His writing romanticizes the process and turns it into an almost sexy experience. He catches himself doing this and even laughs at himself for doing so with out any irony, but I definitely understood what he meant by "hunter porn". The experience forces you to engage all five of your senses and reduces you down to your primitive roots as well as connects you with the energy of your surroundings and the earth you're kneeling on. Of course, as nice as it would be to be able to go out and hunt for dinner each week, if we all indulged, there wouldn't be any game left to hunt.
Now don't get me wrong, I am, as Pollan put it, one of those "animal people" but I think that hunting with the intention of fully utilizing the animal is a beautiful thing. We are after all predators and a part of a food chain....Maybe, instead of feed lot animals being put on a conveyor belt for slaughter, we should put them in a pasture where the public can come and "hunt" their dinner, take it home or ...to a cleaning station..and proceed to take it home and eat it. .....is that sick and twisted? Somehow I'm cringing while writing this. I suppose it would be difficult manning an animal 3 times the size of you trying to haul it home in your suburban... but the idea is similar to that of a stocked lake. Fish are dumped into the lake for fishermen to catch. They dock their boats, take them to a cleaning station and return home with tonight's dinner.
I digress. Pollan's mushroom gathering seemed like more work than it was worth. The constant looking at the ground and "screen saver" image burnt into your mind while you try to sleep just seems nauseating. I am sure the redemption must feel great but I would far rather pay someone to do it for me.
The most meaningful quote in this book is at the very end of the book. Naturally, it sums up his thesis, but its simplicity was key. It reads, " ...we eat by the grace of nature, not industry, and what we're eating is never anything more or less than the body of the world." ( 411).
His final chapter goes through the cooking of his completely scavenged meal. It brings to light the essence of living. While it is not practical to live or eat the way this dish came to be, I think it would be a beneficial thing for everyone to do at some point in their life to help them connect with the earth and ground them as a human being. He indicates that his guests spoke to each other about food, yes, but not about restaurants. They spoke of animals and species and gardening. I found this interesting. By scouring forest floors for mushrooms, hunting for dinner and capturing yeast in the wild, these people- obviously- are so much more grateful for the food that they eat and appreciate it. Eating is fundamentally so much more than sticking your hand into a bag of Cheetos for an afternoon snack.
I found this last section of the book to be the most compelling. It's what I have been waiting for. The application of the omnivore's dilemma into Michael Pollan's life. I am always fascinated to hear about peoples' journeys with diet choices they aren't familiar with. I feel like there is a lot of self re-evaluating and cultural re-evaluating that takes place.
I was most drawn into the chapter about hunting. The way he ends up describing it even turns myself on to the idea. His writing romanticizes the process and turns it into an almost sexy experience. He catches himself doing this and even laughs at himself for doing so with out any irony, but I definitely understood what he meant by "hunter porn". The experience forces you to engage all five of your senses and reduces you down to your primitive roots as well as connects you with the energy of your surroundings and the earth you're kneeling on. Of course, as nice as it would be to be able to go out and hunt for dinner each week, if we all indulged, there wouldn't be any game left to hunt.
Now don't get me wrong, I am, as Pollan put it, one of those "animal people" but I think that hunting with the intention of fully utilizing the animal is a beautiful thing. We are after all predators and a part of a food chain....Maybe, instead of feed lot animals being put on a conveyor belt for slaughter, we should put them in a pasture where the public can come and "hunt" their dinner, take it home or ...to a cleaning station..and proceed to take it home and eat it. .....is that sick and twisted? Somehow I'm cringing while writing this. I suppose it would be difficult manning an animal 3 times the size of you trying to haul it home in your suburban... but the idea is similar to that of a stocked lake. Fish are dumped into the lake for fishermen to catch. They dock their boats, take them to a cleaning station and return home with tonight's dinner.
I digress. Pollan's mushroom gathering seemed like more work than it was worth. The constant looking at the ground and "screen saver" image burnt into your mind while you try to sleep just seems nauseating. I am sure the redemption must feel great but I would far rather pay someone to do it for me.
The most meaningful quote in this book is at the very end of the book. Naturally, it sums up his thesis, but its simplicity was key. It reads, " ...we eat by the grace of nature, not industry, and what we're eating is never anything more or less than the body of the world." ( 411).
His final chapter goes through the cooking of his completely scavenged meal. It brings to light the essence of living. While it is not practical to live or eat the way this dish came to be, I think it would be a beneficial thing for everyone to do at some point in their life to help them connect with the earth and ground them as a human being. He indicates that his guests spoke to each other about food, yes, but not about restaurants. They spoke of animals and species and gardening. I found this interesting. By scouring forest floors for mushrooms, hunting for dinner and capturing yeast in the wild, these people- obviously- are so much more grateful for the food that they eat and appreciate it. Eating is fundamentally so much more than sticking your hand into a bag of Cheetos for an afternoon snack.
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